The Messiah Jesus, our Lord, has come

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post in the archives, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog. I am interested in any reflections or comments you may have.

Blessings and best wishes,
Dr. Will.

Thursday, December 24, 2009
Devotions: Ps 45, 46; Baruch 4:36-5:9; Isa 59:15b-21; Gal 3:23-4:7; Phil 2:5-11; Mt 1:18-25

Jesus is uniquely favored: fairest of men, gracious and mighty; a majestic Captain, eternal King, perfect Judge, anointed by the Father, filled with the Spirit, Bridegroom of the church. God is our refuge and strength, present in every crisis. In heaven there is a river that makes God’s city glad; the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge! Let us now be still and contemplate the Almighty, exalted over all creation, our Companion and Savior.

Let God’s people look to the East—God’s joy is coming to us! Let us rejoice in the glory of God. Strip off sorrow and affliction and put on forever the beauty of the Shekinah, God’s glorious presence, incarnate in our Messiah. Put on righteousness and the glory of the Everlasting. God will shine splendor everywhere, and His Name will be called by God ‘Peace of Righteousness, Glory of Godliness.’ Let all God’s people rise and look east; see our children gathered, rejoicing that God has remembered us. God has ordered that the forbidding heights be made low and the valleys filled, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God. He shelters us from sun and storm; our God will lead His people with joy, in the light of His glory, with the mercy and righteousness that proceed from Him.

God had seen that there was no justice, no hope among men; so by His own arm He brought victory. He donned righteousness as a breastplate, the helmet of salvation, garments of vengeance and a mantle of fury. According to our deeds, God will repay: wrath to His adversaries, requital to His enemies. All the wicked will fear the name of YHWH from the west and His glory from the rising sun of the east; He will come like a rushing stream driven by the Spirit, the Wind, of YHWH.

Before Jesus came, bringing saving faith, we were confined under the law’s constraints; the law was our custodian and caretaker until the Messiah came, by Whom we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are free; for in the Messiah Jesus we are sons and daughters of God, through faith. All who were baptized into the Messiah have put on the Messiah. And there is now no distinction between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male or female. We are one in the Messiah Jesus. And that makes us children of Abraham and heirs of God’s covenant and promise. Though one owns an estate, while a minor child, he is no better than a slave; he remains under the trustees until the date set by the father. It is the same with us: when we were children, we were subject ot he elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born from a woman under the Law, to redeem all who are under the law, so that we might receive our adoption as sons. And because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’ So now: through God, we are no longer slaves, but sons and heirs.

Let us abide in this frame of mind, our heritage in the Messiah Jesus: though He was in the form of God, He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped; instead, He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant, born in the likeness of humankind. Then, He humbled Himself further, bowing even to death on a cross. Therefore, God has exalted Jesus highly, and has bestowed on Him the name above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus' birth happened in this way: His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and before they had union, she was with child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, a just and compassionate man, intended to divorce her quietly, unwilling to put her to same. But as he pondered all this, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife; for the child she has conceived is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ All this took place fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel’, which means God [is] with us. When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel commanded; he took Mary as his wife, but did not have conjugal relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named the child Jesus.